I’ve said this a bunch myself already but with bow season only three weeks away I think it’s worth repeating………Skip to the 8:20 mark of the video.

Good info, fantastic buck

hunt in the snow?

Don’t get down and start tracking the deer too soon. Probably the most common mistake made by even the most experienced hunters. With a bow, unless you see it go down…..you don’t need to do anything for an hour at minimum. If you know it’s a marginal hit then you need to back out quietly and give it much longer than that. So many hunters get down and start pushing the deer not even knowing it.......

On a similar note this……I was reading an article the other day about a tracker out in the Midwest who was apparently supposed to be one of the best….tracking for several notable celebrities like Lee and Tiffany. He had a self-imposed rule where he would not track any deer until 12 hours after the shot. At first I thought that sounded a little excessive but the more I thought about it…..it really makes a lot of sense from his standpoint.

He’s using bloodhounds which can easily track a deer at twice that amount of time. Waiting 12 hours probably greatly reduces the number of live deer he has to deal with. I’ve been giving consideration to doing something similar myself….While many hunters may fuss about it a little and may even sometimes call someone else as a result…..after reading his article it just about seals the deal for me on waiting to track afternoon shots until the next morning at daylight. It just makes the most sense from the trackers standpoint. Why would a tracker rush in too quickly on a wounded deer and risk getting the dog hurt or running the deer onto someone else’s property when the dog can track it 24 hrs later??? Someone go ahead and say it……”But CnC, what about the meat????”..............

I don't see how a dog with its sense of smell can sort out everything that has left scent and stay on a track. Amazing. A deer with even better sense of smell than a dog has to smell and sort out the one that means danger. I've been reading on it and it really gets beyond my comprehension level.

Yeah, it really is fun and amazing to watch sometimes. I've seen Otis find numerous deer now where there wasn't even any sign on the ground that we could visibly see. I’ve got a new appreciation for what a deer likely smells too after getting into tracking. I see what my dogs are capable of and it helps me to understand just how much more a deer can probably detect than what we realize. It has also helped me to understand when a deer has a hard time smelling as well. You need some moisture involved in it. When things get really bone dry then scent does not carry as well or stay on the ground/bushes for nearly as long. Windy conditions are also tough for them.

I know I have pushed recovery with bad results several times.

I agree on waiting at least an hour with a bow, but the longer we wait on our place the more likely it is we will find a skeleton. The coyotes have gotten so bad that waiting until the next morning is just not an option. We had one shot with ML just before dark and they had already gotten the deer when we found it less than an hour later.

It’s WAAAY too common……If I had to guess I’d say about 3 out 4 tracks we may go on with the dogs have been pushed before we ever get there……We as hunters just don’t have enough appreciation for how tough the deer are and how long they can live after a marginal shot. We need to change our idea of waiting after the shot to much longer than we do…….30 minutes to an hour is nothing on a marginal hit…..even several hours is nothing for some hits. The thing about it is though……..if you just won’t push the deer then he most likely won’t go anywhere. If they’re injured then their instinct is to lay down and hole up somewhere…..NOT to travel 100’s and 100’s of yards.

If you jump him up and run him off though then he becomes coyote bait just the same. I've found several deer eaten by yotes but I'd say its about 30% eaten...70% not eaten. I'm sure it depends on location. I agree it sucks when the yotes get there before we do but it’s something that I personally feel as a tracker that I have to just have to chalk up to part of it. I feel like I have to weigh the odds……On one hand if you wait, you run the risk of yotes getting the deer or meat spoiling…….on the other hand, if I go in too early then I’ll most likely will be dealing with a very frisky, wounded animal that may or may not be recoverable. It’s a much more dangerous situation to the dogs when you rush in.

I’ve dealt with a number of deer now that were still alive 12-18 hrs after the shot and you never know what you’re dealing with until after the fact. This might sound harsh but the way I look at it from my perspective as the dog tracker is that if you don’t want yotes to get your deer or the meat to spoil…..then take better shots. Because someone rushes and shoots one in the arse or blows its leg off does not then put the responsibility on the tracker’s plate to rush in and put his dogs in harm’s way in order to save your meat……Messing around with live deer is the most common way that tracking dogs get injured or killed and it happens every year. I know some trackers will see this differently than others. I bet you though that these things are what that tracker in the article I mentioned is taking into consideration when he waits 12 hrs before tracking any deer…..He’s weighing the odds and risks.

If you aren't 100% sure of a killin' shot wait, then wait some more.

Harold-what do you think (really I know) about pushing a deer hard after it's shot to keep it pumping blood and backing off if the job isn't finished?
Need an area you can have access for a distance.

It is really that simple. I tell all my guys to please wait for a good clean shot. Our place is tough to track deer in and after a few long tracks at night and long rough drags the ones who thought they had to shoot as soon as they saw the deer and take marginal shots had a change of heart. Like it told them, an accidental bad shot is one thing but taking a bad shot because you are to impatient is another. They learned the hard way and now they wait for good shots. All that tracking takes away from all the lies we could be telling around the campfire.

I know some folks will disagree with me on this but I don’t think there’s very many situations where that’s really necessary. You could maybe argue for a single lung bow hit I suppose. You’re likely though either dealing with a mortality wounded deer that will really weaken down given some time……or you’ve got a deer that’s just hurt. And from what I have seen so far, no matter which one it is….they react to it by finding a place to hide and lay down. Most of the deer that aren’t pushed are within a few hundred yards even if they’re still alive when we find them…..and I’m talking about still within a few hundred yards 12-18 hrs later. The ones that have been pushed may be a mile or more. Of course they’ll be some exceptions but it’ll hold true for the vast majority. Running in behind most deer is just gonna result in triggering the deer’s flight response.


If it’s a deer that’s just hurt and not mortally wounded, like say a low leg hit….. it really isn’t much different from running deer with dogs like has traditionally been done from the standpoint of the amount of acreage you need. They may run around in a big circle or they may cut a straight line for however far. Most of the stories you hear about someone’s dog getting hurt or killed is usually on one of these type tracks too. Either they cross a road and get hit by a car or they get in a bad bay situation and get gored by the deer. I’m pretty sure this is why the guy in the article I referenced waits 12 hrs. He’s then either got a dead deer, a very weak deer, or one that’s likely not recoverable without high risk. Those you gamble lightly on if you gamble at all. JMO

Having read a lot this summer on scent, odor, and tracking (mainly tracking humans) what I've learned has changed my way of thinking on deer. It appears the biggest limiting factor in tracking humans is not the dog but the handler not being in good enough physical condition. Many things where tried to hide the scent from the dog including pepper spray but the dogs always sorted through it. A deer is suppose to have a 30% better sense of smell than a dog. Basically the conclusion I've come to is the only way to beat a deer's nose is using the wind.

Yep. I have no doubt you can probably reduce the amount of scent you're putting out but other factors are gonna be at play even more.....Like how the wind is making your scent stream carry across the landscape. How much moisture is there in the air to carry those scent particles? How quickly do they dissipate after leaving you?....etc..etc.....The "conditions" effect one of our blood tracks more than time.....meaning that sometimes a 12 hour old track is harder than a 24 hour old one. The conditions play a big role in scent.

Some goober counted receptors in the nose , said a deer has 30% more. Cover scent companies took it and ran with it. My question, are all receptors created equal? Does the brain process the same or is one better? Goober hasn't figured that one out.

I did some research a few months ago. A university in Europe did a study of noses in the animal kingdom. No member of the deer family was in the top 10. Hound was. A buzzard has one of the best sniffers on earth, but a deer probably has more receptors.

I call BS ( have for years) a deer's nose is better than a hound. I agree about staying down wind being the best way to beat a deer's nose, but that's way easier said than done in mountains.

All I have to go on is the research. Maybe their right, maybe their wrong. It gets deep and hard to imagine the levels they are talking. Then there is the 2nd sense of smell if you will in the Jacobson's gland. Both dogs and deer have it but is it really fully understood? I just believe if a deer (or dog) gets down wind and is paying attention, it doesn't matter what you showered in, clothes you're wearing, or spray you used, it will smell you.

The only hard and fast rule on waiting, imo, is with gut (6 hrs.) or liver (3 hrs.). The rest 1 hr. or so and if they get up then they need to be pushed hard to keep the blood flowing, especially broken legs. There are always variables and judgement calls but I don't like losing the meat to coyotes.